


𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖈𝕶 & 𝖄𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [15]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Kuroko Tetsuya, Badass Kuroko Tetsuya, Episode Related, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Gift Fic, GoM as a Family, Guilt, Headcanon, Male Friendship, Mentor & Protégé, Mentor/Protégé, Miscommunication, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Episode, Pre-Episode: s03e02 This Is Mine, Pre-Kaijou VS Fukuda Sougou, Teacher-Student Relationship, Team as Family, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29613042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: Before the Kaijō-Fukuda match, Kise asks for a bit of help, surprising and confusing the two teams involved.It ends better, than he had first planned.
Relationships: Generation of Miracles & Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta & Kuroko Tetsuya, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021426
Comments: 37
Kudos: 121





	𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖈𝕶 & 𝖄𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hkbs_world](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hkbs_world/gifts).



> So... I have no idea what THIS is. I just wrote something... after I realised I have many fics focusing on Aomine & Kuroko partnership and dynamics, but none on Kuroko & Kise.  
> Kuroko & Kise´s relationship is also, in a way, "special", as Kuroko had been Kise´s mentor in their Teikō days. Also, I believe you can take this as part of my new, favourite headcanon. :3
> 
> Also, a bit late... considered I posted this days ago, but... I decided this is a gift/shoutout to @Hkbs_world, who left so many supportive and enthusiastic comments on my works, since I started writing KnB. Thank you, Hkbs_world... Enthusiastic people like you keep me going 😊

Kise grunted, as his throw missed again. Today just wasn’t his day.

“Kise? Are you alright?“ his Captain asked. Kise frowned at the ball, as it bounced on the ground after having hit the backboard. “You’re awful today.“

“In fact...“ his coach cut in, forcing the blonde to look at the man, “You’ve been like this since the Winter Cup match-ups were made known. Our match is in a week and you’ve been worse than I’ve ever seen you.“

Kise swallowed, as he thought of the upcoming match. Kaijō against Fukuda Sōgō.

After such a long time, he’ll meet Haizaki again, this time on the other side of the court... and he knew he was no match for the other. He had copied countless moves since he’d started playing basketball, but only a handful of those moves would be worth anything against Haizaki. Not to mention, that the other, no matter how much he scowled down on effort and basketball in general... he’d surely gotten better.

He took a shaky breath. “I’m fine.“ he said dismissively.

Kasamatsu frowned at him and sooner than Kise could blink, his sempai was next to him, whacking him across the head. “Don’t _lie_ , brat!“

Kise rubbed the sore spot and threw a betrayed look at his Captain, “So _mean_ , sempai, ssu~!”

“What’s the problem?“ Kasamatsu asked again, crossing his arms seriously.

Kise bit his lower lip in worry and wondered, how much he should tell Kaijō. He didn’t want to tell them, it was not his to tell, it was kind of personal... But this was a _crisis._ He knew the team had always intended him to hone his skills to a level, where he’d be able to copy the other _Kiseki._

But for that, he needed help... and the one person, who could help him... Kise swallowed hard and looked at the ground sadly. He’d disappointed him, hadn’t he?

“Oii, Kise, I asked a question!” Kasamatsu growled.

Kise frowned and decided to take a try. He looked at his Captain and then at their coach. “Please call Seirin. I... I’d like to play a match against them.”

Everyone drew up short at that. “Eeh, brat, we’re getting ready for the Winter Cup and so they are!“ Kasamatsu grouched, “They’re not going to show off their skills and you shouldn’t either, because...”

 _“This is a matter of life and death!”_ he growled, surprising everyone, “Ku- Kurokocchi hadn’t contacted me since our practice match. I... I think I know why...”

“Kise, this is not the time to whine over your ex-teammate or to plan a meeting with him by dragging us or Seirin as a whole...”

“Kurokocchi’s the only one who can help!” he growled, gritting his teeth in frustration, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, “Kuroko Tetsuya. Is. The. Only. Person. Who. Can. Help. Me.“ he said, putting extra emphasis on each word and then he took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down, “If we want to win against Fukuda, I have to be better, than I am and Kurokocchi is the _only_ person, who can help me. But Kurokocchi hasn’t spoken to me, since our practice match and I think, I know why... but for him to speak with me, I’ll have to force him to be somewhere, where he can’t brush me off. I need him here, sempai. Now, or we won’t even get past Fukuda.”

Kaijō all shared a few looks and then the coach looked at him, “And why is that?“

Kise grunted, “Their Ace is an ex-Teikō. He played on the First String before I joined them. He’s not someone to be taken lightly. I think... I think, I could beat him... but I need help. And it’s either Kurokocchi or our ex-Captain, who could help. But Akashicchi is in Kyoto and probably training with Rakuzan and his schedule is always tight anyway. Even if he’d be willing to help me train to beat Fukuda... that guy is a sworn enemy of ours, you could say... so even if he’d say yes, he’s just too far away and our time is short. Kurokocchi’s the only chance I have. _Onegaishimasu_.”

Kaijō stared, taken aback by the information the blonde just shared. But they were even more taken aback by the naked pleading and desperation in his tone. It was not something they heard from their bouncy Ace too often.

“Very well.” their coach said at last, “I will call Seirin and we’ll see what they’ll answer.”

Kise sighed, his shoulder’s sagging with relief, as a strained smile appeared on his features. “Arigato.”

* * *

In the end, to Kise’s relief, Seirin had accepted the invitation. When they arrived, Kise was just moments away from running across the court, to cling onto the Phantom and ask him for help. He would _not_ lose against Haizaki.

_Never._

But for that, he needed to learn the tricks, that had not worked before. Now, he had mastered his ability to the fullest... Yet... yet it wasn’t good enough. He had a feeling it would not be good enough against Haizaki. Besides, he knew he couldn’t count on his teammates. Once their best moves were used, they’d be useless. Only he could take on Haizaki...

Still, Kise restrained his impulses, because he knew, that his former mentor would not like being tackled to the ground. Besides, their relationship wasn’t the best after everything.

They lined up and started the game. But all Kise could focus on, was his teal-haired mentor. How... how could he face Kurokocchi after this? After _everything_?

“Hey, focus on the match.“ Kasamatsu said, squeezing his shoulder, “You want Kuroko to help you?“

Kise nodded, “Hai. That’s the only way.“ he said softly.

“I don’t know what happened between you, but...“

“I disappointed him.“ Kise whispered, “I abandoned him and disappointed him. I messed up and I hadn’t noticed until it was too late to take my words and actions back.“ he closed his eyes, “If not for Kurokocchi’s unrelenting support back then, I would not have made it to the First String of Teikō. I... _I owe everything to him_ and I hadn’t been a good teammate by the end. I’ve been an even worse friend.”

“Prove him you’ve changed, brat. He didn’t strike me as the kind to hold grudges.“ Kasamatsu said, “But for now, focus on the game.”

Kise took a deep breath and did his best to clear his mind. “Hai, sempai.”

* * *

In the end, the match ended with a tie. However, both teams could tell, that it was because no one wanted to show everything they had right before a big tournament. Kaijō were surprised that Seirin had even accepted the invitation — honestly, everyone (even Kise, who had begged for it) had initially assumed they’d be turned down.

As the teams walked down from the court, Kise just stood there, frozen for a moment. Then he steeled his nerves. _‘Now or never,‘_ he thought determined, _‘You’ve already messed up, Ryōta, you can’t do any worse. The worst I’ll get, is that he’ll never even acknowledge we’d known each other, once upon a time...‘_

“Ku- Kurokocchi!” he called.

In the relative silence of the gym, his sharp call was like a loud cry. Seirin all looked at him, but Kise ignored them. Luckily, the Phantom stopped just on the edge of the court and looked at him.

“Yes?”

Kise swallowed hard and walked up to him. He stopped just outside the Phantom’s reach. “I... we’re facing Fukuda Sōgō next,” he said quietly.

Kuroko nodded. “I know. Satsuki had sent me the match-ups, just as she got hold of them.”

 _Typical_. Of course, their pink-haired sister (in all but blood) would keep Kurokocchi and Akashicchi updated on everything. They wore different jersey now, but they were still a team, in a way... and it was that reason, why this bothered Kise so much. He _should have_ listened to Kurokocchi back then.

“I’d need your help if we want to win. I... I know, I’ve lost the right to ask for it...“ he sighed, “I messed up. I should have listened to you and I should have apologised that first time we met again. We should —I should have said something, but I... I just couldn’t.“ he squeezed his eyes shut, “I know I disappointed you and maybe you don’t even want to see me again and I’d understand that... but you’re still my brother in all but blood... and even after all, that had happened, I still care. I still respect you...“ he gulped again, “I... messed up. But that was my stupidity and Kaijō doesn’t have — shouldn’t have to pay for that.”

Kuroko eyed the blonde in interest, while Seirin were staring at Kise in complete bafflement. _Just what the Hell was going on here?_

Kuroko hummed, “Your point, Kise-kun?”

“Help me train for the match, Kurokocchi. I want to win against Haizaki... because what he had done — and probably still _does_ , is not right. That’s _not_ basketball. Help me train, so I can beat him. _Onegaishimasu.”_ then, he bowed. 

On Seirin’s side, everyone’s jaws were on the floor, their eyes as wide, like saucers, because _Kise Ryōta_ was _asking_ their Kuroko — _Kuroko!_ ... to _help him train_ for his next match. Several of Seirin’s members pinched themselves and each other, just to make sure they weren’t in some bizarre dream.

Kuroko blinked. And blinked.

“Wait...“ the teal muttered, glancing at Kaijō and then at Seirin, before he looked back at Kise, “was this practice match so just you could ask me to help you train against Haizaki?”

Kise bit his lip and nodded, “Eh, kind of?“ he asked with a sheepish smile.

Kuroko’s face, if possible became even more deadpan. “Seriously? _You seriously had your coach set up a practice match, so you could ask me to help you train?_ ”

“Kind of. You... you hadn’t spoken to me since we graduated from Teikō and then there was no change after our first practice match either. I know, I messed up and all but...” the teal poked him in the ribs. _Hard_. “ ** _OUCH!_ ** Ku- Kurokocchi!” the model whined, taking a step back ad wrapping his arms protectively around his ribs.

“You got that for being a _total idiot_ , Kise Ryōta.“ the teal said, crossing his arms, “If you want help, you could have asked by coming to my house. You know where I live. Or you could have asked Satsuki for my number because yes, I have a new number... but she and Daiki have it. Seijūrō has it. _Everyone_ has it, only you don’t because we haven’t met since I have a new one, save for that practice match, but it had slipped my mind that day.”

“W-Wait...“ Kise blinked owlishly, “You’re not angry? For what happened? The Nationals and before that...?”

Kuroko sighed and hugged the blonde, causing Kise to squeak in surprise. “I wasn’t happy, but we talked it over with the others, but of course, you were busy with your work that week. So I told them I’ll settle it with you later and they let me. Then we just got caught up in coming to a new school and now the tournaments...“ he sighed, “You’re an idiot. You’re still my brother, you know. And I couldn't be angry at you guys for longer than forty-eight hours anyway, because then I start missing you and I’d just end up climbing into your room, like it happened, when I got into Daiki’s room trough his window...”

Kise laughed at that, “As you did in Teikō, huh?“

The teal hummed, as he pulled away, “In my defence, Daiki’s been sick and I hadn’t seen him for two weeks straight and his mother wouldn’t let me into the house. She said she didn’t want me to catch his germs and banned me from seeing him and I was kind of stressed.”

Kise laughed even harder at that, bending over, clutching his sides, “So you climbed the bush to get into his room through the window?”

“Yes.”

Kise snorted, tears streaming down his face, gasping for air. His sides hurt from laughing so hard, but imagining the Phantom climbing into their Ace’s room trough the window was just hilarious.

“Now, stop laughing Ryōta or I might not help you train.“ the teal warned.

Kise bit his lower lip and took a few deep breaths to calm down and did his best to compose himself. He knew that Kurokocchi was being dead serious. Only when he was being dead serious, did he call him “Ryōta”.

“Ah, gomen, gomen.” then he brightened up, “Does that mean you’re helping me train? _For real?_ ”

Kuroko nodded, “Hai. We’re starting right now. There’s not too much time left until the match and you’ll need to learn five specialised moves and styles, to face Haizaki. Get a ball.”

Kise nodded and hurried to grab the ball they’d just used.

 _“Wait a second!“_ Kagami called sharply, reminding the two Miracles, that the others were still there.

”What is it, Kagami-kun?“ Kuroko asked.

“They’re going to be our opponents in the Winter Cup somewhere along the way. _Why_ are you helping him? And... why are **_you_** the one helping him?”

“That’s something I’d like to know as well.“ Kasamatsu chimed in.

Kise and Kuroko shared a look and then Kise laughed, “Why Tetsucchi? Simple. Tetsucchi is good at what he does. He’s been my mentor back at Teikō.”

Seirin blinked, taken aback by this new piece of information, “He... he... what?” Kagami asked.

Kise nodded enthusiastically, as he started dribbling the ball, “Hai. He’s been my instructor. I still remember... half the Club was green with jealousy when they heard Tetsucchi was mentoring me. After all, who better teach you basketball, than the Vice-Captain of the strongest Middle School team in the country, who’d been personally mentored by our Captain?”

 _“Kuroko was WHAT?!”_ Seirin called in shock.

“ _Ryōta_ ...“ Kuroko called, “What have I told you about _rambling_?”

Kise hummed, “ _Eeh_ ~ I thought you told them you were our Vice-Cap?“

Kuroko sighed, “No I hadn’t, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Now... focus.“ he threw a look at Seirin, “Don’t wait for me. This will take a long while.“ he glanced at Kaijō, “And we’d like some privacy. This shall not change Ryōta’s basic playstyle, so you won’t have to worry about teamwork.”

“Wait Ku—”

“Eh, Kurokocchi just asked you to leave, guys.“ Kise chimed in, “Better go. I need this and I’d rather not stay till midnight, just to be done with everything, that needs to be done.”

The teams blinked and then Hyūga sighed, “Kuro—”

Kuroko threw them a look, “This is a private training session, starting _now._ So you are _dismissed_.”

Everyone froze for a moment and then they shared a few bewildered and spooked looks. They’d never seen Kuroko so serious and commanding. Especially not Seirin, who’d spent a lot more time around him, than Kaijō. This —just like the information about his position in Teikō,— was new.

Aida sighed and waved to Seirin and they slowly left, throwing the two Miracles a few confused, bewildered and wary looks. Kaijō stood also blinking in confusion and bewilderment. “Uh—”

Kuroko turned towards them, his expression and stance not changing a bit, “That means you leave as well. This is private and no one here, other than Ryōta and myself, were students of Teikō. The gym will not be damaged and it will be closed. I assume Ryōta knows where to leave the keys.”

Kaijō shared a few looks and then nodded, “He does.“ the coach affirmed, “I’ll leave the keys on the bench, here. Do not stay for too long, though.”

Once Kaijō left as well, Kuroko turned towards his teammate and student, “So... let’s start with something simple. What’s the basis of Dai’s style?“

“Streetball.“ Kise answered without missing a beat.

Kuroko nodded, “Yes. What else?”

Kise seemed thoughtful for a moment, “Speed. Agility and speed.”

“Exactly. So for you to copy him, we start with...”

And the session stretched long into the night, as they took all five styles apart, step by step, with Kise running himself ragged, but at the end, Kuroko personally taught him _Ignite Pass: Kai_ , instead of just letting the blonde copy it.

These special sessions lasted until the day before the match when Kise just relaxed.

With the moves of his siblings mastered, thanks to his brother/instructor, Haizaki never even stood a chance.

(And if Kurokocchi treated him to food after said match... well, it may or may not have happened. And Kise may or may not have bounced his way to the restaurant, giving a happy and grateful hug to Kuroko every five minutes. Which for once, the teal endured —although no one from their circle of friends was there, to prove it,— with dignity, letting the model enjoy his victory.)

Kise grinned to himself. An entire evening with Tetsucchi, just the two of them, right after he beat Haizaki. This was a better end, than he had first planned...

**Author's Note:**

> As always, please leave comments and tell me what you think! Thank you :3


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